PEIG SAYERS, NOT THE FINAL WORD

edited by Bo Almqvist and Pádraig Ó Héalaí, published by New Island Books

In January 1952, six years before she died, the storyteller was interviewed in her native tongue by a team from the Irish Folklore Commission in St. Anne’s Hospital, Dublin. These interviews are published for the first time along with a substantial introduction and detailed annotation - all with English translation. Two digitally remastered CDs of those original 1952 recordings accompany the book.

Many readers of The Avondhu may have negative connotations of Peig dating from their secondary school days, but here she emerges as an engaging storyteller, with a sense of humour, a deep knowledge of traditional narrative and highly skilled in its presentation.